Twin Falls Trail
Markus posing with his bandana from Pine + Bone on the Twin Falls Trail, Washington
On one of our recent trips down to the Seattle area, we went for a hike at the Twin Falls Trail on one of the mornings. This post is about the Twin Falls Trail and you can read about the other things we did on our Bellevue trip.
About Twin Falls Trail
Type: Trail
Length: 3.7 km
Traffic: Moderate
Route Type: Out & Back
Markus looking out from the top of a rock on the Twin Falls Trail, Washington
The Twin Falls Trail is located near North Bend, Washington. From where we stayed in Bellevue, the Twin Falls Trail was about 35 minutes south east and about 45 minutes out of Seattle. During our research, there were a few comments that the trail gets fairly busy over the weekend, so we planned to go earlier in the morning.
The hike itself took us around 2 hours with Markus, though it certainly could've been done quicker (more on this later). The elevation is about 250m and about 3.7km round trip if you’re just going to the falls and back. Choosing to go earlier seemed to have been a good decision since it wasn't as busy as we thought it would be. Since the morning was nice, we found the trail to be clean and easy to walk. We came across children along the trail, if that's an indication of its level.
Even though dogs are required to be on leash, we came across a few dogs that weren't, but they were all trained well. With a reactive dog, we never felt nervous about the other dogs we met on the trail and Markus never felt threatened either. The paths were wide enough that the dogs could pass each other without any problems. I do find that on hikes like these, dogs seem to move with a mission so they (and owners) stop less frequently to greet, but that could just be me.
Markus practicing his balance on a log on the Twin Falls Trail, Washington
The reason why this trail gets busy is for the reward waiting at the top. When you get to the top, there are two sets of waterfalls (hence Twin Falls) - one along the trail and the other down a set of stairs. You'll come across the stairs first, which will bring you down to a wooden walkway to see the lower set of waterfalls.
Since this walkway is a man-made viewpoint, the space becomes a little more confined once you make it down. If your dog is reactive, this walkway could be a bit more stressful for your pup. If there's already another dog on the walkway, you'll have to cross paths with it since it leads to a dead end. However, if your dog is comfortable with it, the view of this waterfall is beautiful from here. Keep in mind that since it's so heavily fenced up, it will be difficult to get a picture of the waterfall with your dog (in fact, we'd advise against it). Once you're done here, you can make your way back up to the trail to see the second of the twin falls.
Funny thing about this other waterfall: We completely walked right past it. In fact, we kept going for another 15-20 minutes before we realized that there weren't other people hiking alongside us anymore. We happened to come across two men who were running the opposite direction towards us and we stopped them to ask if we're getting closer to the waterfall and to our surprised, they told us, "You already passed it!".
About 15 minutes later and having turned back around, we finally got to the waterfall. We came across the two men who had now stopped for a break and one of them asked us how we had missed the waterfall. My honest response was that we thought it would be bigger. Having seen a fair share of waterfalls in my lifetime, I was underwhelmed by this one - so much so that I didn't realize that was the fall and kept walking. Though, this is my personal opinion so take from it what you will.
Markus poking his head out from behind a rock on the Twin Falls Trail, Washington
What we liked
It's a wonderful trail - a bit of a workout, which is great for us and the dogs.
A good part of the trail goes along the river, which is a beautiful experience to take in.
There are trailhead bathrooms (but are open by season).
It wasn't as busy as we thought it would be, but we got there earlier.
What we didn’t like
We were pretty underwhelmed by one of the falls (but the other one was great).
Though we didn't experience this, many people during our research mentioned that it can be very muddy. If it has rained recently, make sure you have the proper footwear.
Parking is very limited.
Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs
By the end of it, we'd still recommend this hike. It's a great way to enjoy nature and the lower set of the falls is still worth taking in. As dog owners, we had a good time with Markus on this hike. It was a good mix of being out in nature and getting in a little bit of a workout. Although there were other dogs on the trail that weren't leashed up, Markus never felt threatened by them. The end result was that we were all a little tired, but happy with the hike overall.
Disclaimer
Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.
Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.
